The Opelousas courier., 1887-09-24
CAUGHT In A TRAP.
A DETECTIVES STORY.

VI l4llCC NCly SllCHa 1dSCdIo HuuS up
the town for three or four weeks in &
way which annoyed us not a little. They
were chaps known as porch climbers, and
the way they did their business was
simply slick. Porch climbing was then
in its infancy. A sneak thief might be
ready to take advantage of an open door
or window on the lower story, but as for
Shining up" a column to reach a bal
cony, or using a light ladder to enter a
chamber window, no one had ever tried
it.
The very first job done by the gang
resulted in a haul of 5000 worth of jew
elry. Your common thief no sooner has
any plumber in his hand than he hastens
off to the pawnshop to make a raise.
This jewelry was not put up, neither
were the second and third hauls. Then
we knew that we had to deal with ras-
calls who had come well heeled and were
holding on to their stuff or shipping it
to ONE other city for sale. The first
three robberies were made at the supper
hour, when all the family were in the
dining room or down stairs. The papers
made such an ado about it as to place
citizens on their guard, and the thieves
changed their hours. 1t was in summer,
and very hot weather, and all upstairs
windows were open for ventilation. They
went into three or four houses through
second-story windows in the evening or
up to as late as midnight, and cleaned
out jewel cases without being seen or
heard.
Perhaps the boldest feat was the sixth
job undertaken. There was a small one
story house standing beside an elegant
mansion. The little house was on a
corner. One of the fellows mounted to
the root, crept along to the larger house,
and then assembled the tin conductor on
the big house to a bath room window
The blinds inside were locked. but he
hung t2tRhe sill with one hand until he
could open them with the other. Peo-
pie on the street saw him, and a police
mar called out to know what he was
doing. The fellow was then sitting in
the window dangling his legs in a care
less way, and he replied:
stJim and I do that for exercise every
night
With that he disappeared into the
bath room, and proceeded to ransack
the various rooms on that floor. tt
seemed that all the family except a
daughter were away to a neighbours, and
the young lady had a beau in the parlor.
The servants were out on a rear veranda.
and the rooms were thus at the mercy of
the thief. He took his time in making
his search, and, while he was after
money and jewelry first, he did not de-
spise laces, opera glasses, and valuable
bric-a-brac. He made up a large bundle
OF stuff, took a cigar which he found on
9 mantei, and was putting away in the
coolest manner when he descended the
front stairs. The girl heard him and
came out into the hall and asked:
Did you want to see papa2''
Eyes, my DEAR was the ready reply;
ssbut he seems to be out. Tell him 4
called, will your
ssWhat is the name2''
aWilcox--Judge Wilcox. i brought
my Egyptian curios over for him to look
at, but some other night win do as
we'll"
She saw him depart without a thought
Of how he entered, and the robbery was,
of course, discovered later ON. The de-
t~ectives were instructed to let everything
drop to hunt down these slick fellows,
and there was any amount Of jawing over
our III luck. We had every hotel and
boarding house under strict scrutiny,
but W could turn up suspicious char
acters answering to the description of
these. The man who sat on the sill of
the bath room window was said to have
long black whiskers. The q who
pissed for Judge Wilcox had auburn
Burnsides, and was al u~nctuous sort of d
fellow. Five hundred men could have
been found iii d days hunt to answer
these descriptions. For many days the
Post Office was watched, strangers were
aogged about depo1s guarded, and gar
dena and concert halls looked after, but
we made u arrests. At least every
second night there was u fresh robbery.
and: esery second day the papers had
opportunity TO come out with fresh ar
ticle and belabor ~. Wewere seeming
i doing al that men could do, and our
position was truly uncomfortable. The
came abelst u the oldest sort 81
way or enc of the fashionable thor
1ughfareslived I'D Old maid-that ii. she
ono of ! family, being IN / remem
sas right 1he mana sister. 6ha was
'lstE WeIl 81, aaa always bad sesssal
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